Rizla Flavour Infusions Cards Menthol Chill Full Box of 25…

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In the United States, menthol smoking is highest amongst young people aged 12 to 17, who are more likely to continue smoking and experience greater nicotine dependence than young non-menthol smokers. While it is unlikely that the evidence-based characterising flavours ban will be reversed in the UK post-Brexit, minimising the evidence on the importance of this ban may contribute to misperceptions that it is over-zealous. Tobacco companies have long harnessed consumers’ misperceptions about menthol to appeal to new populations of young smokers – a key strategy to securing profits. Canadian legislation, for example, is more comprehensive, prohibiting menthol as an ingredient in cigarettes, most cigars, papers and filters.

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Higher rates of menthol smoking amongst young Black Americans may explain why they experience greater tobacco-related harm than their White counterparts, despite having lower overall smoking rates.

They do not necessarily represent the views of BMJ and should not be used to replace medical advice. Flavourings, particularly menthol, appeal to young people and are erroneously perceived as less harmful.

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An article by The Independent, which has 6% of the national newspaper readership, refers to evidence that menthol cigarettes ‘make it easier to start smoking and are popular with young people’ to explain why the ban is happening. Alternatively, tobacco companies may use it to push for the weakening of existing tobacco control measures. The article also quotes an opinion from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank with financial links to tobacco companies. Furthermore, the industry used the four year ‘phase-out period’ in the UK to promote new menthol products to retailers through the retail trade press, instead of preparing for the ban by phasing out menthol cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco.

A ban on characterising flavours in tobacco products (including menthol), as part of the European Union’s revised Tobacco Products Directive (or TPD2), was introduced in the UK in May 2020. Just drop the card in to your bottle or jog, wait for few minutes and get ready to be hydrated with Zero calories and tons of flavor!

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In contrast, an article by The Sun, which has 22% of the national newspaper readership, states that the ‘draconian’ ban was introduced because “Brussels…believed their “pleasant flavour” could attract people to take up smoking. The UK government’s most recent Tobacco Control Plan highlights Brexit as an opportunity to review EU tobacco control regulations and identify opportunities for deregulation as a means to improve public health, particularly around e-cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes represent 10% of the global cigarette market, and represented 21% of the UK market prior to the ban. When approached for comment the Department of Health responded that it is committed to the continuation of the menthol ban after the end of the Brexit transition period. This likely contributed to the increased market share for menthol and capsule cigarettes seen in the UK during this period.Tobacco companies attempted to undermine the ban in Canada by heavily promoting menthol capsule cigarettes prior to the ban and thereafter by introducing packaging, filter tip colours, and text descriptors that conveyed menthol-like qualities. In a submission about TPD2 to the UK government in 2014, PMI said that the menthol ban ‘lacks evidence’ and would not improve public health, in contradiction to the available evidence and evaluations of other similar bans. The anaesthetic effects of menthol in cigarettes enable smokers to inhale cigarette smoke more deeply into the lungs, thereby increasing exposure to the harmful substances in tobacco smoke. Taken altogether, these activities to minimise the impact of the characterising flavours ban to smokers prove once again that maintaining the status quo and protecting profits remain the key motives of the tobacco industry.

Menthol: Tobacco Companies are exploiting loopholes in the UK Menthol: Tobacco Companies are exploiting loopholes in the UK

Despite a global decline in smoking, the number of young people smoking menthol cigarettes has not decreased. The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s first global public health treaty, recommends banning menthol tobacco products. The UK Government’s ambitions for post-Brexit tobacco control policy will be revealed in its new Tobacco Control Plan due in July 2021.

EU legislation prohibits menthol as a characterising flavour but not as an ingredient in cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, papers or filters, and this ban does not extend to cigars, cigarillos or other accessories such as flavour infusion cards. Brexit may be an opportunity to close loopholes that the industry has been exploiting to circumvent the EU’s characterising flavours ban in the UK, as well as other areas legislated for by TPD2 including illicit trade, tax and minimum pack size. This coupled with continued developments of smoking accessories and cigarette brands is likely to perpetuate the incorrect assumption that menthol cigarettes are a ‘healthier’ option than non-menthol cigarettes.